Mosh Pit Cleaning

Now, there are embarrassing parts of this house that I just plain don’t want you to see. Ever. This is the worst of them all:

It is down right scary to look at and images like this keep me up at night. I love order and organization. I dream of a world with matching hangers (white of course), page protectors for everything kept in a binder, baskets for toys all the same size, and white again.

And then reality sets in. The doorbell rings, and I rush to make sure the doors of this very cabinet are closed. Yes, even when it’s just the delivery man.

Why am I posting this picture? It’s part of a revolution I’m doing in these parts (okay, my home). If I’m going to fix the chaos, I’m going to have to pull it out in the open for all to see.

Ugh.

Now, let’s talk about the orderly things that do work with three kids under 6 years old.

#1. A place for everything, with the hopes that more days than not, it is found in it’s place.

IE: AnnaLeigh’s car seat is always tucked to the side of the sofa that nobody can see from the entrance of the room.

#2. Clean the most visible parts of the house first.

My boys know where each pillow goes on these sofas, and even how to straighten the furniture (it slides around on this laminate floor).

#3. The kids tuck in chairs.

This is also starting from the front door and working our way to the back of the house. By the way, this furniture is not mine, it comes with the house. I only got to choose the colors.

#4. Clear all ‘misplaced’ stuff out of each room. Put it all in a ‘Mosh Pit’.

Every single thing that is out of place in all the rooms goes to the Mosh Pit. See, in the pictures the house looks perfectly clean, where in reality, there’s a 3 foot pile of misplaced stuff that needs to be put in it’s place.

#5 . Sort the Mosh Pit

Here in this Pit, there’s everything from dishes, clothes, shoes, hair bows, school stuff, toys (notice the 6 white baskets, ideally, the kids only take out one at a time, but life happens).

The boys know where just about everything goes, and we all stay motivated when we are attacking the Mosh Pit together. Many times I’ll be making dinner, and because the kitchen is right next to where the Pit is, I can over see the cleaning while I make dinner (which just started… a Father’s Day project for Tim).

So there, that’s what works in getting the kids to do their part; all the while, I have that scary cabinet I need to attack once and for all. Curious to learn what works for your family to get kids to clean up?